Sealing ring with assembly means



G. H. FUEHRER Jan. 21, 1964 SEALING RING WITH ASSEMBLY MEANS Original Filed Feb. 27, 1961 IIIIIM Il' Il! Il! l Y #riff/441.3%?

GEORGE H. FUEHRER INVENTOR.

ATTORN Y.

ag/@x gz vIIIIm v IIIIIIIII Hillliillid y ,yg Xfnv// United States Patent lilice n llbl Patented Jan. 2l, 1954 3,118,631 SEAZWG RING "i" ASSEi-BLY MEANS George lil. Fuehrer, Bowne', Calif., assigner to. Thor lower Tool Company, Aurora, ill., a corporation of lelaivare Qontinuation of application Ser. No. 92,@l3, Feb. 27, 1961. This application May 9, i963, Ser. No. Zlhll 2 Claims. (Qi. 277-9} I'ihis invention relates to piston rings and dirt wiper seals and more particularly to an improved one-piece piston ring having a plurality of widely-spaced resilient sealing lips projecting in opposite axial directions trom a common main support ring capable of being deformed sufficiently to permit assembly of the ring within a mounting groove and capable of operating forl extended periods without need for inspection or servicing.

L rl`his is a continuation of my application for US. Letters Patent S.N. 92,013 tiled February 27, 196i, and now abandoned, for Sealing Ring Assembly.

Recent improvements in component materials and in the design and assembly of power cylinders have focused the attention of designers on the possible feasibility of eliminating provision for field disassembly and servicing of such cylinders. ri`he need heretofor for such field se.L 'icing has been subject to many serious problems because of the unfavorable conditions often existing in the field for servicing. An equally serious factor has been the general lack of adequate facilities and trained personnel in the field skilled in proper servicing techniques.

Exemplary of problems in the use of fluid pressure operated assemblies and illustrating the problems to the solution of which this invention is directed are feed leg assemblies employed to support sinlier drills and other type of power bperated tools useful in drilling and breaking rock formations. Feed leg assemblies are normally constructed in two or three stages with one end supported on the ground and the other pivotally connected to the main body of the p eurnatic tool. A portion of the pressurized fluid supplied to operate the tool is supplied under controlled conditions to the feed leg assembly to hold it in a desired extended position. Operation of the tool subjects the feed leg assembly to severe vibration and shock conditions conducive to loosening of the fasteners holding the parts assembled. Such loosening has been accepted as inherent in tde use of expandable feed legs to support pneumatic tools.

My recent invention disclose in United States Letters Patent 2,914,63l, granted November 24, 1959, entitled Telescopic Feed Leg Assembly, is directed to the use of metal bonding agents between certain of the parts to lock them rigidly and substantially permeanently assembled. The advent of this new and greatly improved technique now makes it feasible to provide sub-assemblies which cannot become disassembled in use and enabling them to operate for long periods without need for eld servic- L L. ing.

ln fact7 disassembly or ine bonded parts is possible only by the use of equipment available in specially equipped servicing facilities. ln order to take advantage of the possibilities of the referred to sub-assemblies, it is most important that their components be capable of long trouble-free servie life. The one component falling far short of meeting such long service requirements without servicing is the sealing ring or packing provided between the piston and its cylinder wall, as well as the pafling provided between the piston rod and the cylinder.

To overcome the inadequacies of the prior art sealing and packing assemblies of which there are a great variety is the principal purpose and objective of the present invention. These objectives have been satisfied to an unusually gratifying degree by the construction illustrated and described below. Whether used between the piston and the cylinder wall or between the outer end of the cylinder and the piston rod, the seal of this invention is made in one homogeneous unit of resilient material capable of being stretched and expanded sufficiently for assembly over a one-piece piston. To facilitate the assembly operation one rim edge of the piston is deeply beveled to provide a pilot and expander for the seal which is b racterized by the provision of a centrally disposed thick-walled main body ring having relatively wide thinwalled flexible sealing lips extending in opposite directions froin the side walls thereof. These lips diverge from the main body ring at a very acute angle with their remote rim edges designed for light pressure contact with a relatively movable cylindrical surface and cooperating therewith to provide a highly reliable seal. Preferably, the opposite side walls of the main body converge away from the base of the sealing lips and cooperate with complementally shaped side walls of a seating groove to support the ring in its proper operating relation with respect to the surface to be sealed. To assure forming a seal across substantial pressure differences, as is essential when used as a piston sealing ring, the seal is further characterized by the provision of a shallow axially-wide seating groove for a keeper ring of metal or the like. This ring is positioned midway between the root ends of sealing lips and has a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the metal surface against which the lips seal. The keeper cooperates with the main body and the seating groove therefor to hold the seal securely Within its supporting groove despite very considerable pressure differentials which may exist between the opposite ends of the piston on which the ring is mounted. The keeper ring usually is not necessary if the seal is used as a dirt wiper seal between the cylinder and the piston rod, since there is seldom any appreciable pressure difference across the seal in this application; if there is, the use of a keeper ring is desirable.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved unitary sealing ring having multiple sealing lips and characterized by its unusually long trouble-free service life.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a unitary sealing ring characterized by a relatively thick, heavy main body portion and integral oppositely-extending flexible sealing lips.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a dust wiper seal for use between the outer end of a cylinder and a concentically related piston rod having a pair of sealing lips widely spaced from one another axially of the piston rod.

Another obiect of the invention is the provision of an improved piston and sealing ring assembly comprising a one-piece ring of resilient material and a continuous high strength retainer ring cooperable therewith to lock the resilient member assembled within a supporting mounting groove of a one-piece piston, the retainer ring being equally effective irrespective of whether the main body of the sealing ring faces inwardly or outwardly with respect to a cooperating cylindrical surface.

FlGUlE l is a longitudinal sectional view taken through a feed leg assembly with portions thereof broken away and illustrating a typical application of sealing rings embodying the present invention;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are fragmentary perspective Views of the invention, the .FIGURE 2 form being suitable for mounting on a piston and the FIGURE 3 form being suitable for mounting for sealing engagement with a piston rod.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIGURE, fl, it is pointed out that the typical operating 3 environment for the invention there illustrated comprises a sinker drill feed leg assembly of the type disclosed in application for Untel States Letters Patent Serial No. 39,985, tiled March 2l, lol, by George l-l, Fuehrer and Wolfrom G. Korir, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. lt is emphasized however that the sealing ring construction to be disclosed in detail below is equally suita le for use in other fluid-operated assemblies generally.

The expandable-contractable cylinder assembly incorporating theV present invention and desif'iiuted generally is especially designed for use to support and advance c.- pneumatically operated tool suitable for drilling roel; and the like operations. Reference may be had to the above-indentiied application for a fuller description of the constructional details and their mode of operation. An understanding of the principles of the present invention and of its mode ot use will be had from the following iescription of the pneumaticaliy operated cylinder assembly shown in FlGURl l. Feed leg assembly lb cornprises a three stage cylinder assembly including a large I.iarneter stage Z3, an intermediate stage 2d, and a third t mid-sections of these stages have been omitted, as have the details or certain of the piston construction and their modes of connection wi h the tubular members or stages 24: and 25. However, it will be understood that the one-piece piston head 32 has a skirt (not shown) at its right hand end suitably threaded or otherwise connected to the inner end o second stage cylinder or hollow piston rod 24. Likewise, it will be understood that the left hand or inner end oiC third stage is provided with a ston and sealing ring similar to piston 33 and having sl ing, sealing contact with the interior surface of stage Ws. n

in the position of the parts shown in FIGURE l, the several stages are fully collapsed together with piston 32 positioned against a stop provided by a boss projecting axially from the interior or" end cap 2S. This end cap is held in assembled relation to the left hand end of stage 23, as by accurately and snugly iitting threads 27.

The second or intermediate stage 242- is provided at its inner end with a one-piece aluminum piston 32 having a reduced diameter skirt (not shown) threaded onto the tubular body of stage Zd. Piston 32 is provided with a shouldered bore 34, 3d extending centrally therethrough in which is mounted an open-ended air low tube 3S. The inner end of tube 35 is threaded into a mounting sleeve 35 having a snug sliding nt within bore 34. A threaded bushing 3S is mounted in the threaded outer end of bore 3ft and locked securely in position by a lock nut having a tapered end seating against the complementa ly tapered outer end of bore Se. The inner end of bushing 32 cooperates Awith the juxtaposed end of sleeve 35 to hold securely mounted therebetween a sealing ring di? having a pair of similar llexible lips el, 4l.

A second and smaller air how tube i3 is axially aligned lwith air tube 35 with its accurately iinished exterior surface having a close sliding tit with the inner side wall of bushing 33. Lips il of sealing ring have resilient wiping Contact with air tube 43 and cooperate therewith in preventing leakage of air past this seal. rl`he outer end of tube d3 is threaded into a well i5 formed in the inner shank end of a cap screw lo threaded into the outer end of a bore 37 passing centrally through end cap 23. An O-ring or other suitable gasket d? seals cap screw d6 to cap Z3. An annular groove Si? surrounding the shank ot cap screw d6 communicates through radial passages with the interior of tube 45. From the foregoing it will be recognized that air tube i3 is removable for inspection and servicing along with end cap d6.

Adr flowing in tube d3 passes to or from the axially aligned tube 3d rigidly supported in piston 32. The inner end or" tube 35 is provided with radial passages (not shown located close to its connection with sleeve 36 and these passa es communicate with passages formed in pisl ton 32 and extend into annular chamber between the right hand ends or stages and These features are shown in detail in the aforementioned cti-pending application of George H. Fuehrcr and Wolfrorn G. lortl and form no part of the present invention, it merely being pointed out that pressurized air can be supplied to either end of piston 33 depending upon the direction in which it is desired to move this piston and its attached cylinder he lett hand end of piston 32, as viewed in FEGURE l, is provided with a deeply beveled rim edge closely adiacent one side wall of an annular groove 53 having outwardly diverging side walls seating therein a one-piece resilient sealing ring, designated generally 59, having relatively wide annular lips ed, 69. The remotely spaced rims of these lips are in close wiping contact with the interior surf-ice of the lfirst or larger stage 23 of tbe feed leg. sl tly reduced mid-portion of sealing ring 59 is provided lith a shallow but wide groove 6l seating a continuous thin-walled keeper ring o2 of high strength to lock the sealing ring seated ole metal effective within groove 53. lt is pointed out and emphasized that keeper ring v(l is sutliciently smaller in diameter as to be out of contact with the interior of tube 23 and sulliciently larger in diameter than the rim of groove 5b for assembly 'nto groove 6l of the sealing ring after the latter is seated in groove SS. To be observed in particular is the fact that the surfaces of lips di? closest to the surface being sealed converge toward this surface from their junction with the main body portion e2 of the ring at a very acute angle.

As molded and prior to assembly of the piston relative to the cylinder, it vill, of course, be understood that the angle of taper of lips is greater than the assembled angle of taper. ln other words, the outer tip ends of lips arc of slightly greater diameter than the wall against which they are to seal and for this reason, are required to be pressed inwardly slightly during assembly. ln consequence, these bear against the cylinder wall under slight resilient pressure in their normal operating position.

lf the ring is to be used to seal against the piston rod or other internal concentric surface, it is contoured as shown in FIGURE 3, the corresponding parts being designated with the same `eference numerals distinguished by the addition ot a prime. The remote tip surfaces of sealing lips de" are or" slightly smaller diameter than the surface ot the piston rod or other cylindri al'suraces against wl'ii n they are intended to seal. A further feature of the lip design is the back-cuttingiof radial faces 63 of the lips at an appropriate rake angle, as for example 30 degrees, to provide a sharp leading edge for r;

the lips, as well as providing a thin-walled exible lip edge, thereby assuring longer service life and more positive sealing action. i

eferring now to the righthand end of FIGURE l, a description will be given of the end ring assemblies and the importance of the dust wiper seals supported in these rings. Secured to the outer end of the rst stage tube 23, as by threads 79, is a retainer ring 7l. Threads 7@ are preferably sealed against leakage as by O-rings 7.?. retained in inwardly opening annular grooves arranged as is indicated in FGURE l. These sealing rings assist in holding retainer 71 immovably assembled to tube 23 under severe shock and vibration conditions. The internally shouldered portion 73 of ring 72 mates with tbe complementally shouldered portion o a bushing ring 74. tl/hen ring 7l is properly assembled to tube 23, bushing 741; is held tightly compressed against the tapered surface 75 of tube 23. Bearing bushing 7d has an accurately finished internal diameter having a'sliding tit with the exterior of second stage 2d.

lt will also be understood that the right hand end of stage 24% is provided with an end ring 77 assembled into the internally threaded outer end of stage Zd, as is indicated at 7S. A bearing sleeve '79 is pressed into or adhesively bonded to a counter sinlt provided in the inner end of end ring 77 and has a sliding ht with the exterior of third stage 25.

The outer ends of rings 7l and 77 are each provided with inwardly opening annular grooves Sil, $2 having diverging side walls complemental to the similarly shaped side Walls of main body portions 83, 34 of a pair of unitary similarly shaped dust Wiper rings having the same general configuration and design characteristics as described above in connection with ring 59'. ln fact, for the purposes of this disclosure the FGURE 3 sealing ring can be considered as showing the dust wiper ring seated in grooves Si, S2 of the end rings. in view of the identical design characteristics of the gasket ring whether employed as dust wipers on the external ends of the cylinders or as piston rings on the interior of the cylinder assembly, it is thought unnecessary to repeat the description given above.

Although various elastomeric materials and compositions may be employed in forming the sealing ring featured by this invention, it has been found that polyurethane is particularly suitable and provides unusually long and trouble-free service life. Desirably, the shore-hardness of this material for most satisfactory results ranges between a shore of 75 and 80. The relatively thick heavybodied central portion of the ring provides an unusually solid and firm mounting anchorage for the ring as well as for each of the oppositely extending thin but wide sealing ips. The unusually Wide separation of the lip tips from one mother serves important purposes including the provision of an unusually wide sealing surface for the lips. The wide spacing of the actual sealing surfaces aids materially in the self-aligning action of the seal ring, permits the juxtaposed cylindrical surfaces being sealed to provide reinforcing support for the lips and makes possible the pronounced resilient sealing action characteristic of the described ring. Undoubtedly there are numerous factors which contribute very substantially to the long service life of the sealing ring and not presently clearly understood. Irrespective of the explanation, the demonstratable fact is that the sealing ring of this invention provides far greater and trouble-free service life than prior sealing ring design.

While the particular sealing ring assembly and associated parts herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of attaining the object and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

V1. In a tluid pressure actuated cylinder assembly, a

one-piece piston having outer diameter substantially less than the inner diameter of a surrounding cylinder, said piston having one edge deeply beveled to provide a pilot surface over whit;L a sealing ring can be expanded to assemble the same into a seating groove, a radially deep and wide annular groove opening outwardly through the peripheral walls of said piston and spaced close to said beveled rim edge, the side walls of said groove diverging outwardly from the bottom of the groove at an acute angle to a plane normal to the piston axis, a one-piece continuous sealin ring member of resilient elastic material capable of being expanded sufiiciently for forced assembly over the beveled rim edge of said piston and to then contract into snug-fitting seating engagement with the diverging side Walls of said annular groove, said sealing ring being of homogeneous material and having a thickwalled radially-disposed annular main body centrally thereof complemental in shape to the annular groove of said piston, said main body having thin annular tapering resilient sealing lips flaring in opposite general y axial directions from junctions with the outer rims of said main body, the thickest portion of said lips being at their junction with said main body and tapering to a relatively thinner but blunt outer sealing edge, the inner surfaces ot said lips being spaced from the underlying peripheral wall of said one-piece piston to permit limited flexing of said lips about their junctions with the main body of the seal without interference from the piston side wall, the outer surfaces of said lips converging toward the seal body at very acute angles with respect to the inner surface of said cylinder and into merger with the opposite edges of a radially shallow but relatively Wide groove formed in the outer periphery of said main body between the junctions of said lips therewith.

2. A cylinder assembly as delined in claim 1 characterized in the provision of a continuous metallic retainer ring for said sealing ring, said retainer ring being of substantially greater diameter than the periphery of said piston and being assembled over the beveled rim edge of said piston by deflecting the adjacent one of said seal lips inwardly and forcing said ring thereover and into snug litting seating engagement with the surfaces of said shallow wide groove, the exterior of said retainer ring being of smaller diameter than the interior surface of said cylinder and being held spaced inwardly therefrom by the underlying main body of said resilient sealing ring.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,362,125 Eves Nov. 7, 1944 2,889,183 Peras June 2, 1959 2,903,308 Barnhard Sept. 8, 1959 

1. IN A FLUID PRESSURE ACTUATED CYLINDER ASSEMBLY, A ONE-PIECE PISTON HAVING AN OUTER DIAMETER SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE INNER DIAMETER OF A SURROUNDING CYLINDER, SAID PISTON HAVING ONE RIM EDGE DEEPLY BEVELED TO PROVIDE A PILOT SURFACE OVER WHICH A SEALING RING CAN BE EXPANDED TO ASSEMBLE THE SAME INTO A SEATING GROOVE, A RADIALLY DEEP AND WIDE ANNULAR GROOVE OPENING OUTWARDLY THROUGH THE PERIPHERAL WALLS OF SAID PISTON AND SPACED CLOSE TO SAID BEVELED RIM EDGE, THE SIDE WALLS OF SAID GROOVE DIVERGING OUTWARDLY FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE GROOVE AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO A PLANE NORMAL TO THE PISTON AXIS, A ONE-PIECE CONTINUOUS SEALING RING MEMBER OF RESILIENT ELASTIC MATERIAL CAPABLE OF BEING EXPANDED SUFFICIENTLY FOR FORCED ASSEMBLY OVER THE BEVELED RIM EDGE OF SAID PISTON AND TO THEN CONTRACT INTO SNUG-FITTING SEATING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE DIVERGING SIDE WALLS OF SAID ANNULAR GROOVE, SAID SEALING RING BEING OF HOMOGENEOUS MATERIAL AND HAVING A THICKWALLED RADIALLY-DISPOSED ANNULAR MAIN BODY CENTRALLY THEREOF COMPLEMENTAL IN SHAPE TO THE ANNULAR TAPERING RESILIENT SEALING LIPS FLARING IN OPPOSITE GENERALLY AXIAL DIRECTIONS FROM JUNCTIONS WITH THE OUTER RIMS OF SAID MAIN BODY, THE THICKEST PORTION OF SAID LIPS BEING AT THEIR JUNCTION WITH SAID MAIN BODY AND TAPERING TO A RELATIVELY THINNER BUT BLUNT OUTER SEALING EDGE, THE INNER SURFACES OF SAID LIPS BEING SPACED FROM THE UNDERLYING PERIPHERAL WALL OF SAID ONE-PIECE PISTON TO PERMIT LIMITED FLEXING OF SAID LIPS ABOUT THEIR JUNCTIONS WITH THE MAIN BODY OF THE SEAL WITHOUT INTERFERENCE FROM THE PISTON SIDE WALL, THE OUTER SURFACES OF SAID LIPS CONVERGING TOWARD THE SEAL BODY AT VERY ACUTE ANGLES WITH RESPECT TO THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID CYLINDER AND INTO MERGER WITH THE OPPOSITE EDGES OF A RADIALLY SHALLOW BUT RELATIVELY WIDE GROOVE FORMED IN THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID MAIN BODY BETWEEN THE JUNCTIONS OF SAID LIPS THEREWITH. 